Benedict Cumberbatch

Received his Masters degree in Classical Acting for the Professional Theatre at the prestigious London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), United Kingdoms oldest drama school.

Met Professor Stephen Hawking twice before filming Hawking to prepare for the role. He then subsequently provided the voice of the physicist in "Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking" in 2010 and "Stephen Hawkings Grand Design" in 2012 which both aired in Discovery Channel.

Son of actor Timothy Carlton and actress Wanda Ventham.

Attended Harrow, one of the oldest, most-respected and expensive all-male boarding schools in the United Kingdom.

He experienced a terrifying carjacking in South Africa while filming "To the Ends of the Earth" . He wrote about the experience in an article for The Princes Trust for which he is ambassador.

Good friends with Keira Knightley , James McAvoy , Tom Hardy , Matthew Goode and Zachary Quinto.

His character Sherlock Holmes warm relationship with Mrs. Hudson is influenced by Cumberbatchs own real-life relationship with Una Stubbs , as she is good friends with his mother and she has seen him grow up.

Is a huge fan of Robert Downey Jr. with whom he shares the iconic role of Sherlock Holmes.

Lost a notable amount of weight for his role as Sherlock Holmes, his goal being to portray Holmes as a character with such high intelligence that it manifests itself in a physical, "mind-over-matter" sort of way.

Good friends with Jonny Lee Miller , with whom he shared the central roles of Victor Frankenstein and his Creature in Danny Boyle s stage production National Theatre Live: Frankenstein . Coincidentally, Miller was cast as Sherlock Holmes in "Elementary" and Cumberbatch has been playing the legendary detective in "Sherlock" since July 2010.

One of his first ever acting roles was playing Titania, Queen of the Fairies in Shakespeares comedy "A Midsummer Nights Dream" when he was age 13.

During his gap year, before studying Drama in Manchester University, he spent some time volunteering as an English teacher at a Tibetan Buddhist Monastery in Darjeeling, India. The pupils were mostly Tibetans.

Painted oil canvases and was a member of the rugby team while he was studying at Harrow.

In 2012, he won a Laurence Olivier Award, London Evening Standard Award and Critics Circle Award for his performance in Danny Boyle s stage production National Theatre Live: Frankenstein at the Royal National Theatre wherein he played Victor Frankenstein and his Creature in alternating nights.

In 2005, he was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor for playing Jrgen Tesman in Henrik Ibesens play entitled "Hedda Gabler".

Famous for his Alan Rickman impressions.

He received one of his earliest reviews when he played Nick Bottom in Shakespeares comedy "A Midsummer Nights Dream". The review says "Cumberbatchs Bottom will be long remembered".

He unexpectedly got dual voice roles on "The Simpsons" when he visited Foxs studio for a completely unrelated appointment. He voiced the United Kingdoms Prime Minister (patterned from Hugh Grant s character in Love Actually ) and did an Alan Rickman impression to voice Snape for the Special Valentine Episode that aired February 2013.

Became good friends with Gary Oldman on the set of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy .

His grandfather, Henry Carlton Cumberbatch, was a decorated submarine officer of both World Wars and a prominent figure of London high society.

His great-grandfather, Henry Arnold Cumberbatch, was Queen Victorias Consul General in Turkey and Lebanon, and was a member of the Order of St. Michael and St. George for his services to foreign and Commonwealth affairs.

Has numerous connections outside the franchise to fellow Star Trek cast members. He played Stephen Hawking , who had previously played himself on an episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" . He shares the role of Sherlock Holmes with both Leonard Nimoy and Christopher Plummer. Cast member Karl Urban appeared in the last two Lord of the Rings films, while Cumberbatch appears in the prequel trilogy based on The Hobbit.

Three of his roles have connections to Leonard Nimoy. Obviously, Nimoy originated the role of Mr. Spock. He also played Sherlock Holmes on stage, and in the 1970s, released a song called "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins".

According to ancestry.ca, he is related to famed astronaut Chris Hadfield.

He always wanted to pursue acting, however he entertained the idea of a law degree because of how hard his parents worked to give him an education. When he discovered that law was just as competitive, he decided to go with his passion.

Has central heterochromia as well as sectoral heterochromia, the "groovy" but harmless genetic mutation that his friend James McAvoy describes in X: First Class . Central heterochromia is where each eye has multiple colors - in his case, each has a different but nearly identical combination of blue, green, and gold. Sectoral heterochromia is where one eye has a spot (or sector) of different coloration; his right eye has a brown "freckle" of color that, while small, is typical of sectoral heterochromia.

In 2013, he was included in Entertainment Weeklys New Hollywood feature which listed the "Top 50 Coolest, Most Creative Entertainers Blowing Up TV, Movies, Music and Books".

His female fans were originally known as "Cumberbitches", but are now known as the "CumberCollective" or "Cumberpeople". Cumberbatch is uncomfortable with the term "Cumberbitches" because he says its non-inclusive and pejorative.

Fond of extreme sports like skydiving, hot-air ballooning, scuba diving and snowboarding.

His voice has been creatively described by journalist Caitlin Moran as a "jaguar hiding in a cello". According to a film critic, his voice is "so sepulchrally resonant, that it could have been synthesized from the combined timbres of Ian McKellen , Patrick Stewart and Alan Rickman holding an elocution contest down a well". The "jaguar hiding in a cello" comparison apparently also clicked with the creative people at Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC. Cumberbatch voiced several commercials for Jaguar cars.

In 2013, he was ranked fifth place in the "Most Fascinating People in Britain" list of Tatler magazine, ranking higher than the Duchess of Cambridge and just below Queen Elizabeth II.

He was the cover star of The Hollywood Reporters "New A-List" issue in September 2013.

Ranked #1 in Empire magazines "100 Sexiest Movie Stars" in 2013.

Known for donating his own drawings and sketches for charities and fundraisers.

Graced the cover of Time magazine in October 2013.

His parents Timothy Carlton and Wanda Ventham also played his characters parents on "Sherlock" .

Four out of five films in which he appeared in 2013 received Oscar nominations: 12 Years a Slave , Star Trek: Into Darkness , August: Osage County and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug .

As of 2015, has appeared in four films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Atonement , War Horse , 12 Years a Slave and The Imitation Game . Of those, 12 Years a Slave is a winner in the category.

In March 2014, Cumberbatch was included in The Sunday Times "100 Makers of the 21st Century" list citing him as the "next Sir Laurence Olivier ".

In an interview, Julie Andrews named Cumberbatch as one of the actors she is fond of.

(April 2014) Named one of Time magazines 100 Most Influential People in the World.

Has played two villains named "Khan": Khan Noonien Singh in Star Trek: Into Darkness , and the voice of tiger Shere Khan in Jungle Book .

Has mostly English ancestry, with small or distant amounts (to varying degrees) of Welsh, Scottish, Cornish, French, Swiss-French, Swedish, German and Dutch. His paternal grandfather was born in Izmir, Turkey and his paternal grandmother was born in Bengal, India (both of their families were English).

Posted a video of himself accepting the "Ice Bucket Challenge" to raise research funds for ALS, also known as "Lou Gehrigs Disease". Gehrig is not the only famous person to suffer from this disease: it also affects Stephen Hawking , who Cumberbatch has played.

Has an older half-sister, Tracy Tabernacle, now Tracy Peacock, from his mothers first marriage to James Tabernacle.

(November 2014) Traditionally announced his engagement to theatre director partner Sophie Hunter , who he has known for 17 years, in the "Forthcoming Marriages" section of The Times newspaper. He presented her with a 3.5 carat, Edwardian-inspired cushion-cut, yellow diamond ring adorned with a hundred smaller diamonds all around the head, bezel and shank. Its estimated value is $450,000.

Graced the cover of Time magazine for the second time in November 2014.

Benedicts favorite filmmakers are Stanley Kubrick , Michael Winterbottom , Steven Soderbergh , John Hughes and Alfred Hitchcock.

Benedicts favorite movies include Ghostbusters , Annie Hall , 2001: A Space Odyssey , Singin in the Rain (1952) , Der Himmel ber Berlin , Ladri di biciclette , Badlands , Elephant , The Shining , Lt den rtte komma in , Zoolander , Withnail & I , Brief Encounter , Io sono lamore , Michael Clayton , Un prophte , The Bourne Identity , The Bourne Supremacy , The Bourne Ultimatum and Inception .

Benedicts favorite television series include "The Wire" , "The Office" , "The West Wing" , "Mad Men" , "The Sopranos" , "Breaking Bad" and "The Killing" .

(February 2015) Cumberbatch married theatre director partner Sophie Hunter at the 12th century Church of St. Peter and St. Paul on the Isle of Wight followed by a reception at Mottistone Manor.

Benedict Cumberbatch is good friends with Eddie Redmayne. Both actors have portrayed Professor Stephen Hawking in different productions: Cumberbatch in Hawking , and Redmayne in The Theory of Everything . Both actors also received their first Academy Award nominations together, playing real life characters: Redmayne for his role as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything , and Cumberbatch for his role as Alan Turing in The Imitation Game .

Cumberbatch and Alan Turing , who he portrays in The Imitation Game are actually related in real-life. According to the family history site Ancestry, the two are 17th cousins with family relations dating back to the 14th century. Both are said to be related to John Beaufort, the first Earl of Somerset, through Cumberbatch and Turings respective paternal lines.

His fragrance of choice is Eau de Monsieur by Annick Goutal.

On the day before filming the pilot of "Sherlock" , his hair turned green due to the dye used to turn his hair black. Thankfully, his hair was fixed and the filming went on as planned.

He was awarded the CBE in the 2015 Queens Birthday Honours List for his services to the performing arts and to charity. He is an actor in London, England.

In the episode "Sherlock" {A Scandal in Belgravia (#2.1)} , Sherlock Holmes encounters Irene Adler. Coincidentally, Irene is Sophie Hunter , his wifes middle name.

Good friends with Robert Rinder , whom he met while they were both students at the University of Manchester. He officiated at Rinders marriage to his partner after being ordained by the Universal Life Church. In return, Rinder was one of three best men at his wedding to Sophie Hunter.

Became a father for the first time at age 38 when his wife Sophie Hunter gave birth to their son Christopher Carlton Cumberbatch on June 1, 2015.

Became a father for the second time at age 40 when his wife Sophie Hunter gave birth to their son Hal Auden Cumberbatch on March 3, 2017.

Before he became a household name, Benedict appeared with Felicity Jones and David Tennant in a BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Jane Austen s "Mansfield Park".

The rule of law is being overrun so fast, eroding our civil liberties in,a way that fundamentalists could possibly cherish. Yet there is a very,real threat, for the other liberty that we could have taken away is our,life, at any point, through the act of terrorism. I think intelligence,services have really struggled post-Iraq with credibility, and I feel,for them to a certain degree. They are trying to protect our right to,exist.

[Turing] got under my skin. It was just so pitiful. Imagining the,physical weakness, the vulnerability, the exhaustion, how the hormones,affected his emotional state. It was all ungovernable.

[on selfies] What a tragic waste of engagement. Enjoy the moment. Do,something more worthwhile with your time, anything. Stare out the,window and think about life.

Like all of these things, like a lot of art, you do the work and you let,go. You understand how the thing works and then you let go of it. It,should be something you breathe or you feel, not something that you,force or try to control. Looking for happiness is a sure way to,sadness, I think. You have to take each moment as it comes.

I drive a motorbike, so there is the whiff of the grim reaper round every corner, especially in London.

My mum and dad had worked incredibly hard to afford me an education.

Pull the hair on my head the wrong way, and I would be on my knees begging for mercy. I have very sensitive follicles.

I can feel infinitely alive curled up on the sofa reading a book.

I had the privilege of being able to choose, or at least have the opportunity to work at, being anything but an actor.

Lines are very difficult to learn.

Looking for happiness is a sure way to sadness, I think. You have to take each moment as it comes.

The further you get away from yourself, the more challenging it is. Not to be in your comfort zone is great fun.

The first time we did cavalry charge I was so breathless with excitement I nearly fell off the horse. I actually saw stars in front of my eyes and thought I was going to faint. The second time I had a bit more control but was still giddy with excitement. And the third time I was an emotional wreck. I had to really try hard not to cry.